Orthopaedic Operations

Bob Spink:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of patients who see an orthopaedic surgeon went on to have an operation in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [23126]

Jacqui Smith:
Patients who attend national health service trauma and orthopaedic out-patient clinics are treated in a range of ways, such as non-surgical treatment, physiotherapy, drug treatment and receive advice on lifestyle changes. A significant number of these patients will not need hospital admission. In 200001 there were:

1,724,943 new patients treated in trauma and orthopaedic clinics;

661,430 consultant episodes of trauma and orthopaedic care where surgery was performed. This figure does not equate to the number of patients as some may be operated on on more than one occasion during the year.

Mrs. Vyan Gresty

Mr. Gareth R. Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the care of Mrs. Vyan Gresty by Harrow and Hillingdon Healthcare Trust. [23042]

14 Jan 2002 : Column 64W

Mr. Hutton:
We are not aware of any representations relating to the care of this patient.

Lou Gehrig's Disease

Mr. Weir:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the United Kingdom by nation and region, are diagnosed as having Lou Gehrig's disease; and what percentage of these are veterans of the Gulf War in the last year for which figures are available. [23207]

Jacqui Smith:
Lou Gehrig's disease is classified as motor neurone disease (MND) in this country and there are between 5,000 and 6,000 sufferers of MND in the United Kingdom. Worldwide, the annual incidence of MND is estimated to be 1.5 new cases per 100,000 people. To date, the Ministry of Defence is aware of five veterans of the 199091 Gulf conflict who have been diagnosed with motor neurone disease, one of whom died in 1992. The table shows the hospital admission figures for motor neurone disease in 200001.

Admissions for motor neurone disease by region of residence,

NHS hospitals, England 200001

Number

Regional office

Northern and Yorkshire

396

Trent

330

West Midlands

169

North West

320

Eastern

347

London

269

South East

359

South West

259

England (NOS)

1

Scotland

2

Wales

16

Foreign

6

Not known

4

Total

2,514

Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition

Mr. Martyn Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the membership of (a) the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and (b) its sub groups. [23882]

Yvette Cooper:
Membership of the committee, its subgroups and working groups, is shown in the table. Papers relating to the committee and its groups are available through the committee's website www.sacn.gov.uk.

Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN)

Main committee members

Chair

Professor Alan Jackson

Professor of Human Nutrition, Southampton University

Members

Professor Peter Aggett (OBE)

Head of School, Lancashire Postgraduate School of Medicine and Health, Professor of Child Health and Nutrition, University of Lancashire

Professor Annie Anderson

Research Professor of Food Choice at the Centre for Public Health Nutrition Research, University of Dundee

Food Standards Agency

Mr. Martyn Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what scientific evidence the Food Standards Agency based its statement on dietary salt and its effect on human health contained in its announcement on salt in bread on 29 November; and for what reason the statement was made by FSA before the salt review by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition had been completed. [23890]

Yvette Cooper:
I am advised that the statement was based on the finding of the Committee on the Medical Aspects of Food Policy, as recently endorsed by the Chief Medical Officer in his annual report for 2001, as well as the large body of scientific evidence on the issues. The statement is without prejudice to the work that the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition currently has in hand on salt.

14 Jan 2002 : Column 66W

Health Expenditure

Derek Twigg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate health spending per head of population by health authority for 2002. [24011]

Mr. Hutton:
Health authority allocations for 200203 per weighted head of population for each health authority in England are shown in the table: